Standing before rows of white headstones in Arlington National Cemetery, President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced that Veterans Day will now also be known as �Victory Day for World War I,� invoking America�s role in forcing Germany�s surrender on Nov. 11, 1918.
�Today is not only Veterans Day,� Trump declared at the windswept ceremony, �but my proclamation that we are now going to be saying and calling it Victory Day for World War I. We�re the ones that won the wars.�
The announcement, made after Trump and Vice President JD Vance laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, resurrects a proposal the president first floated in May on Truth Social. Trump had previously suggested May 8 � marking the end of World War II � be recognized as �Victory Day,� but the official Veterans Day proclamation released Monday made no mention of the change.
On Tuesday, Trump appeared to expand the idea, saying: �From now on, we�re going to say Victory Day for World War I and World War II. And maybe someday someone will add a few more, because we won a lot of good ones.�
Trump�s remarks, delivered amid freezing gusts at Arlington, reflected his penchant for symbolic rebranding and patriotic revivalism. �When I saw France and the U.K. celebrating Victory Day, I said, �We�ve got to have one,�� he said. �Nobody even talked about it in our country.�
The president also used the occasion to praise U.S. veterans and celebrate the apparent end of the 42-day government shutdown, telling the crowd, �Our heroes lived through unthinkable nightmares so we could live the American dream � and that dream is coming back, stronger than ever.�
Flanked by Vance and Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins, Trump hinted at even bigger commemorations ahead, including a proposed �triumphal arch� near Arlington to mark America�s 250th birthday next year.
�Victory Day,� Trump said, �is just the beginning of honoring how much we�ve already won.�
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
3 Responses
What a disgusting slap in the face to all veterans. Thanks president bone spurs.
A total insult to our veterans from a convicted felon and draft dodger.
The original name was “Armistice Day” (note the non-use of the word “victory”, unlike the non-holidays in honor of the ends of World War II, V-E and V-J days) in honor of the fact it was a peaceful agreement (no surrender) ending the “war to end all wars”. They changed the name since it turned out to be nothing more than a “cease fire” at the end of the “warm up” round before the second world war. It is worth noticing that bellicose and racially insensitive political leaders totally bungled the post-war peace process leading to tens of millions of deaths.